Skip to content

New West students prove it pays to be kind

A group of New Westminster Secondary School students helped the school become the first recipient of a Shaw Kindness Sticks grant worth $5,000.

A group of New Westminster Secondary School students helped the school become the first recipient of a Shaw Kindness Sticks grant worth $5,000.

Two years ago, Simran Grewal and Kate Choi founded the school’s Best Buddies club to help students with special needs feel more connected to other students at the high school, according to a school district press release.

To bring students together, Grewal and Choi created a space in the school that appealed to all students. The goal of the games room is to “bring students together to have fun in a way that encourages inclusivity and acceptance,” noted the release.

In hopes of expanding the games room, the students applied for a Shaw Kindness Sticks grant and last week, they were gifted $5,000 to buy new technology, furnishings and games, including Operation, Sorry and Super Mario Party, to improve their games room.

A team from Shaw along with B.C. Lions wide receiver Manny Arceneaux, one of the judges for the Kindness Sticks grant program, stopped by the school last week to present Grewal and Choi with the Kindness Sticks award.